Donny Octave
Donny Octave Darren James Rondo '''(born November 13, 1992) is an American professional wrestler signed to VERSUS THE WORLD Wrestling, where he performs under the name '''Donny Octave. Early Life Darren Rondo was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming on November 13, 1990 to parents Gary Rondo and Victoria "Vicky" Rondo. as the second of three children. Growing up in a wrestling family, his father went under the ring name Gary Rondo, and Darren's mother was Gary's on-screen and off-screen manager, going under the name Vivian Velvet. His father was successful in California, which prompted him to move the family out to Los Angeles. Wrestling was all Darren and his siblings ever knew, so it was seemingly destiny that they themselves would get involved in the business one day. This desire hit Darren the most growing up, which led to him becoming somewhat of a social outcast in school. Due to a promise made by his father that he would train him when he turned 18, Darren always made sure to keep his grades up. He always struggled with social interaction, however, which kept him at a certain level throughout his middle school years, and his Freshman and Sophomore years of high school. It was in his Junior year of high school when personal problems began to rise up, as his older brother, Gavin Rondo was constantly feuding with their parents, so much so that he eventually abandoned the family. This caused a rift between Gary and Vicky, which led to divorce soon after. These situations caused him to fall behind in school. It was during this time he met a student named Ronnie Novak, a kid who had the same aspirations as Darren. They became quick friends, and Darren having a like-minded friend allowed him to pick the pace back up. Darren graduated high school in 2008, and he began training. Wrestling Career Early Career Limit X Wrestling (2008) Darren and Ronnie began training straight out of high school with Darren's father, Gary. They would compete as enhancement talent for Gary's promotion Limit X Wrestling. Once they finished their basic training, they were promoted to the actual roster. Darren became Donny Rondo, and Ronnie Novak became Ronnie Nova, and they became the tag team "The Livewires." As The Livewires, they had chances at the tag team championships, but they never achieved any real success. After a year on the LXW roster, The Livewires were granted releases. Japan (2009-2012) The Livewires would relocate to Japan in 2009, to sign with the Japanese promotion Kingdom Pro Wrestling, ran by Japanese legend The Grand Mioda. They trained under Mioda at his dojo for a year, picking up on the Japanese style. The Livewires had a measure of success in KPW as a babyface tag team, being 1 time tag team champions. After 3 years as a tag team, The Livewires would eventually go their separate ways in 2011, as Ronnie Nova had an opportunity back in the United States. Donny stayed put in Japan and became a singles star, however he wasn't able to capture any success. After a rough 2012, Donny returned to the United States. Supreme Wrestling Society (2013) When Donny returned to the United States, he was picked up by Cleveland, Ohio promotion Supreme Wrestling Society. Upon signing, he learned that his former tag partner Ronnie Nova became the SWS World Heavyweight Champion. They would feud in SWS throughout the early months of 2013, having SWS Feud Of The Year 2013. SWS would close it's doors in the summer of 2013, and in their final show, Ronnie Nova and Donny Rondo had one final match for the SWS World Championship, which ended with Donny finally defeating Nova to become the final SWS World Champion. Injury (2014-2015) Donny travelled the independent circuit as the final SWS World Champion for the early months of 2014, until he suffered a devastating injury, tearing the ACL, MCL and medial meniscus in his right knee after a botched dive from the top rope to the outside of the ring. He underwent a successful surgery in March of 2014 and began his road to recovery. During this time, tragedy struck as his former tag team partner and best friend Ronnie Nova was found dead via suicide. The news hit Donny deep, and he fell into a deep depression. The situation only grew worse for him, as he was in a car accident in the Summer, which re-aggravated his knee injury, and created a minor shoulder injury, also halting his in-ring return. Due to the constant physical and emotional pain, Donny turned to drugs and alcohol to cope. After a strenuous time of recovering from the loss of Ronnie Nova, and his injuries, Donny was finally able to train for his return in 2015. His father Gary helped him get back in ring shape throughout the Spring. = OMEGA Network (2015-2018) Outstanding Wrestling Alliance (2015-2017) Upon being cleared for return, Donny signed with an upstart promotion called Outsanding Wrestling Alliance, a company owned by a private company called OMEGA Network, in 2015. Now going by the name of Donny Octave, he was a part of their debut event, OWA Kickoff, where he competed in the show's main event against Brick Wall for the OWA Alpha Championship, a match which he lost. He lost again to Brickwall at OWA's next PPV, Bloodsport. In 2016, on the debut episode of OWA Fallout, Donny Octave finally defeated Brick Wall for the Alpha Championship, after connecting with a Superkick to Brick Wall, and pinning him. There was controversy surrounding this victory due to the former champion initiating a rope break that was never acknowledged by the Referee. However, shortly after becoming the OWA Alpha Champion, he was suspended after failing a wellness test. This put the championship up for grabs in a tournament, which was held at OWA Regenesis, which was won by Blake Harnage. Donny would return at OWA Summercrash, attacking Harnage with Elijah Rose, as well as attacking OWA General Manager Andrew Vice. This would be OWA's final show, as soon after it was rebranded by OMEGA Network. ALPHA Domain Wrestling (2017) In 2017, OWA was rebranded into ALPHA Domain Wrestling. In ADW, Donny competed in the ADW Championship tournament, losing in Round One to Chaz Storm. Donny would go on a losing streak of sorts, losing to Casey Walker on Episode 03, and Maxx Bell at ADW's Act On Instinct PPV. Donny would then enter a feud with Thayne Bell, which seemingly culminated at ADW's Blood Sport event, when Donny defeated Thayne with his Light Of Day finisher, after assistance from Crazy Wolf, a former rival of Thayne. ADW would shut down soon after, due to management conflictions. Extreme Wrestling Entertainment (2018) In 2018, OMEGA Network would once again rebrand their primary wrestling company to Extreme Wrestling Entertainment, appointing Matthew S. as the General Manager. EWE held a 16-man tournament, which culminated with Casey Walker and Donny Octave in the finals, at EWE Ground Zero. On this night, Donny would win the EWE World Championship and go on to form the Paradigm Shift with Cyrus Crowe and Darien Dupre. He would never get a chance to defend his championship, as the OMEGA Network would close it's doors silently after Ground Zero. ROX Wrestling (2016-Current) Donny Octave signed with ROX Wrestling in 2016, and was a part of their World Championship tournament. The tournament was ran in a series of tag team matches, in which the final team standing would go on to face each other for the championship. Donny teamed up with Mike Enston, and his team was eliminated in the first round by the team of Victor Spades and Arlen Lanigan. Later in the show, Donny would be seen assaulting Mike Enston after failing to convince General Manager Joshua Alston to reinstate him in the tournament. Donny would temporarily align with Seth Blake, but the pairing was short lived after Blake left the company. ROX would then introduce a new show called ROX Burnout, where Donny would become one of the two men who would compete for the ROX Undisputed Championship, the other being Desmond Cruise. Donny and Cruise would fight at Victory Lane for the championship, which Cruise won. After this, Donny wouldn't appear again until Episode 09 of Burnout, where he lost to Will Steele while trying to qualify for the Elimination Chamber match at ROX Maximum Conviction. After a lengthy absence from Burnout, Donny Octave requested and was granted his release from ROX Wrestling. VERSUS THE WORLD Wrestling (2018-Current) After the OMEGA Network closed it's doors in 2018, Extreme Wrestling Entertainment tried to go independent, but it was quickly bought out by wrestling legend Blade Myers, who rebranded into VERSUS THE WORLD Wrestling. He then booked the show Insurgence, where Donny Octave was a part of the Triple Threat main event to crown the VTW Global Champion. Also in this match were Alex King and Dylan Black, also former champions in EWE. Donny would suffer a graphic injury in this match after being hit in the head multiple times with a baseball bat. He would suffer a fractured skull and orbital bone, which the latter injury required surgery. He is currently on the sidelines awaiting return. Personal Life Very little is known about Donny's personal life outside of wrestling. However, it is known that Donny co-owns a wrestling school in Reno, Nevada with his father Gary Octave, called "Limitless Academy." This is where Donny spends the most of his time when he's not on the road working. Donny is one of the head trainers at the school, alongside fellow Paradigm Shift members Cyrus Crowe & Darien Dupre, and father Gary Octave. In wrestling * Finishing Moves ** Kill The Light ''(GTS) ** ''Rules Of Nature ''(Single Underhook Facebuster) ** ''Octavian Rhapsody ''(Claymore Kick) * '''Signature Moves' ** Swan Song ''(Clothesline) ** ''Crescent Eclipse ''(Falcon Arrow) ** ''Famous Last Words ''(Cross Armbreaker) ** Shining Wizard * '''Tag Teams' ** The Livewires ''(with Ronnie Nova - 2008-2011) ** ''Paradigm Shift ''(with Cyrus Crowe and Darien Dupre - Current) * '''Nicknames' ** The Next Gen Kid ''(2011-2014) ** ''The Octavian Mastermind ''(2015-2016) ** ''The American Tragedy ''(2016-Current) * '''Entrance Themes' ** Skid Row - Youth Gone Wild ''(2008-2009) ** ''Hollywood Undead - Sell Your Soul ''(2010-2013) ** ''Moleman - Rush ''(2014) ** ''Darthduba - Story Of Life ''(2015) ** ''The Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings ''(2016-2018) ** ''Grand Analog - I Play My Kazoo ''(2016-2017) ** ''Amputation Effect - Like Fire ''(2017) ** ''Dead Sara - Heart-Shaped Box ''(2018-Current) Championships and accomplishments * '''Kingdom Pro Wrestling' ** 1x KPW Tag Team Champions (with Ronnie Nova) * Supreme Wrestling Society ** 1x SWS World Champion * Outstanding Wrestling Alliance ** 1x OWA Alpha Champion * Extreme Wrestling Entertainment ** 1x EWE World Champion